Federal Capital Territory

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 21 January 1939, Page 14

Federal Capital Territory

Notes on the News

Fires in the Federal Capita! Territory of the Commonwealth of Australia have destroyed thousands of acres of valuable timber and grazing land, and burnt out many homestead buildings. Canberra, the capital city of the Australian Commonwealth, was originally a station on the Moionglo River, about 14 miles above its junction with the Murrumbidgee. The Federal Capital Territory has au area of about 90(1 square miles round and south of Canberra, and another of about 4000 acres at Jervis Bay. Out of the total area of the Territory about 12 square miles (76800 acres) were set apart for the city site, and about 100,000 acres more reserved for parks, roads, military college, and other public purposes outside the city area. The designs most approved of for the city construction were made by architects from Chicago, Helsinki, and Paris, and the greater part of the final design was due to the Chicago planner, Walter Burley Griffin. On March 12, 1913, building operations were officially initiated. Canberra City lies about 2000 feet above sea level. It is about 75 miles in a direct line from the coast, 204 miles by rail from Sydney, 429 from Melbourne, 912 miles from Adelaide, 929 from Brisbane, and 2599 from Perth. The average annual rainfall is 22.63in., the mean summer temperature 67.5 degrees Fahrenheit, and the mean wiutet temperature 41.8 deThe Federal territory extends to within 60 miles of Mount Kosciusko, and includes a duster of peaks over 5000 ft. high.

Massawa It is reported that the Italians have moored six submarines, 10 gunboats and a cruiser at Massawa. During the Italian campaign against Abyssinia, Massawa 1 , the port of Italian Eritrea, was an important base. It was reported to have been made into a formidable stronghold with batteries of 15-inch guns having a range of 20 miles. Apart from Massawa, there is no port in Eritrea worthy of the name. Built as a small colonial harbour. It lies In a quiet bay surrounded by numerous islands and coral reefs, which afford natural protection, but not against one thing—the sun. For Massawa has the doubtful reputation of being the hottest port in the world. It is also the base of the Italian Red Sea and Indian Ocean fleet. The heat in Marssawa has been known to reach 130 degrees in the shade.